I thought I loved. The way she challenged me. The way she looked at me. The way she understood me. But most of all, the way she accepted me, flawed and all. Fuck it. I was going to bet my heart on her. “I love you, little raven. I’ve been in love with you before I knew what it felt like to love someone.” My fingers brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “There’s only you.”
Her grin bloomed slow and radiant, cheeks flushing pink, and the sight of it nearly dragged me under. “Took you long enough.” She leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth with heartbreaking tenderness.
The smile was still soft on her lips when she started to pull back, but the moment even an inch of space opened between us, somethingin me rebelled. “Where do you think you’re going?” I murmured, my fingers curling around her hips, rooting her in place.
“I can’t stay in your bed all day.”
“The fuck you can’t.” My voice rasped low, rough. “Besides, I’m not done with you.”
She tilted her head, feigning innocence, though her eyes sparkled with heat and mischief. “Is that so?”
“Hmm.” I slid a hand up her spine slowly, feeling the way her breath hitched. “It is. I’m waiting.”
She raised a cheeky brow, and the glint in her light-blue eyes told me she knew exactly what I referred to.
“Little raven,” I prompted with a growl.
“You’re so demanding.” Her lips touched mine again. “I love you, Kreed Corvo,” she murmured, her shining eyes finding mine so I could see every ounce of her feelings, nothing hidden, no fear, no hesitation. Just love. Honest. Raw. Disarming.
I hauled her against me, careful of my stitches but unwilling to let the moment slip. Her soft gasp hit my lips right before I kissed her. Her fingers tangled in my hair, nails grazing my scalp, sending a shiver straight down my spine. Every inch of her pressed against me with a hunger that matched my own.
She shifted onto my lap, straddling me and reading my damn mind. My hands slid beneath the hem of her shirt, fingertips skimming up her waist. Her skin was warm and impossibly soft. I deepened the kiss, her lips parting for me as my tongue brushed hers, making my pulse spike hard.
Hunger licked inside me, fanning the flame of desire that burned only for her. I couldn’t believe she was mine. Her hips rolled softly against me, and I moaned. “You’re going to kill me,” I murmured into her mouth.
“Not today.” She kissed the corner of my jaw, then the sensitive spot below my ear. “Today…I’m keeping you alive.” Her lips trailed lower, grazing down my throat.
I inhaled, my fingers secure on her waist. She was being gentle…too damn gentle, and it terrified me how much it undid me. My fingers went under her shirt, pushing up as I sought out a breast. I watched her eyes darken as I rolled the tip of a nipple between my fingers, feeling it harden under my touch.
“You should be resting,” she whispered, running her teeth over my bottom lip before nipping at it with enough pressure to border the lines of pleasure and pain.
“This is resting,” I said, dragging my lips down the column of her neck, feeling her arch into my touch. “You in my arms…that’s the only thing that’s ever calmed me.”
She leaned back enough to look at me, her chest rising and falling fast, cheeks flushed, and hair tousled. She never looked sexier. “I’ve never had anyone look at me the way you do. You make me feel like I’m the only thing in your world.”
“You are. You always were,” I admitted, relieving her of her shirt. It was in the way of what I wanted. My head dipped, catching one nipple with my mouth.
Her breath stuttered, a deep moan escaping her. My tongue swirled, and her fingers dove into my hair, pressing my mouth harder against her breast. She moved against me, rubbing over the strain in my boxers. I was rock-hard and throbbing for her.
Her hands slid beneath the fabric of my shirt to drag her palms across my stomach, my ribs, and the bruises still pulsing faintly with pain.
I didn’t care.
Not when she touched me like that.
Not when she kissed me like she wanted to memorize the shape of my mouth.
“Kreed…” she whimpered, grinding against me.
It took more effort than I liked to shed my boxers, my wound protesting, but it got considerably better when Kaylor took over, tossing her underwear alongside mine. Free of barriers, I lay back on the bed as she straddled me, positioning herself right where I needed her to be. My dick strained to be nestled in her, and she didn’t makeme wait, sinking down on me until she took me fully inside. Her eyes fluttered closed as she rode me, our bodies instinctively moving in rhythm, her legs pressing snugly against mine.
I became blind with pleasure, the need for her only intensifying. She went slow at first, gradually increasing her pace, torturing us both. My hands went to her hips, guiding her faster and faster until we went over the edge together. I felt her release, her muscles convulsing around me. She dropped on my chest, and I fused our lips in a kiss.
“Say it,” I whispered.
“I love you,” she said breathily. “I love you so much it terrifies me.”
“Good.” I kissed her again, slower, reverent this time.
